A driver of a pickup truck almost killed himself after trying to drive through a rail crossing and was hit by a train in Nakhon Ratchasima's Bua Yai district on Sunday. (Photo by Prasit Tangprasert)

A 32-year-old man escaped with minor scratches after he drove his pickup truck through a rail crossing and was struck by a train on Sunday morning.

The accident occurred on the crossing in tambon Bua Yai of Bua Yai district at about 10am. The crossing was equipped with warning lights and signs but without safety barrier. However, it was manned by a State Railway of Thailand official.

The pickup driver was a native of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Bua Yai police investigator Pol Maj Wissanu Wadudom said Mr Sunan was driving alone and did not stop behind the stop line even though the official alerted him with voice alarms several times.

The front of his pickup truck was over the track when the Nong Khai-Bangkok train No.416 reached and collided with it. The force of the impact overturned the pickup and wrecked the frontal part of the vehicle. The metal frame at the front of the locomotive was broken and came off.

However, Mr Sunan escaped death or serious injury in the crash and was being treated by paramedics at the scene for only minor scratches.

The crash delayed the train for two hours. The four-carriage train left Nong Khai at 5.30am, Pol Maj Wissanu said.